We Wish
by whump-2-go
Summary: Steve, Lou and Chin go on a fishing trip that is only the beginning of trouble for all members of Five-0. - A new story by Cokie316 and Sym64


A/N - Maybe you will find the one or other thing odd; we just ask you to hang in there. ;-) …Sam

A/N - The seeds of this story were born during our time together in October. Since that time, I think the premise has changed a couple of times and we have rearranged numerous times but finally just said "what if".

Please bear with us. Hope you enjoy! …Cokie

Oh, p.s... this is your Christmas present. Better late than never... right? Come on... right? Sorry, but we did try. :)

* * *

 **We Wish**

"Lou, are you sure you don't wanna come?" Steve McGarrett asked his older friend while preparing his mask.

"Nah, you guys go ahead," the big man answered with a wink. "As much as I appreciate Chin's spearfishing lessons, I'm more the traditional kinda guy," Lou said while settling down on the bench at the stern of their fishing boat.

"Suit yourself. But you're missing out on some real beauty," Steve again tried his luck to get the captain into the water.

"Well, I will have some beauties when you two guys come back up," Lou laughed and motioned to his fishing rod he had cast out a few minutes ago. "Our Christmas Eve feast will be second to none."

"Good luck with that," Chin said smiling. "But you're right; we'll eat like kings on Christmas."

"Hey, tell me again why you're not using a scuba tank?" Lou asked.

"Because that wouldn't be fair to the fish," Steve patiently said.

"Why is that? They can stay down there as long as they want," Lou asked while shaking his head.

"He does have a point," Chin chimed in.

"Hmpf," Steve didn't even regard that with an answer, but couldn't hold back his laughter. "Guess they do have a slight advantage," he finally conceded.

"We'll see about that," Chin again said and checked his equipment before joining Steve sitting on the railing.

Steve adjusted his mask and snorkel and a moment later he let himself fall back into the ocean-green waters. He had come here to snorkel and to fish for as far long as he could remember. He was about five when his dad had taken him out the very first time.

Just him, his dad and the ocean. It was one of the fondest memories he had of his childhood.

That day he hadn't caught any fish; his dad, of course, wouldn't let him handle any spears back then. But he clearly remembered how his dad had taught him how to snorkel in the open waters, and how to dive. They had only been a few feet down, but for the five-year-old Stevie it had been a great adventure.

They had brought home some fish that day, but had caught it with a rod from the boat. So, Steve hoped that today his friend would also get lucky.

He turned to look for Chin, and found him right next to him. They both leveled with the waterline to take in another breath before they dove down for their first trip.

Half an hour later they both had caught a decent number of fish and were happy to see that Lou had also been lucky.

They bobbed in the water near the boat and Steve called out to their friend. "Lou, we're going on our last run a little further out. There's a cave with good fish," he said and motioned in the intended direction.

"Want me to follow with the boat?"

"Nah, it's only about 150 yards," Chin called back.

"Alright, be careful." Lou settled back and pulled a cigar from his pocket as they swam away from the boat.

When they reached their destination they prepared to go down one last time. "It's shallow, Chin, only about 20 feet. You ever been down there?" Steve asked after taking out his mouthpiece.

"No, I don't think so."

"OK, then let's go."

Steve adjusted the snorkel before he went for their next dive. He had enjoyed the day so far, and was really happy that both of his friends had decided to come with him. It was not that often that they could enjoy free time together.

But with the latest big case put to rest, they all thought it was time to take a day off. And what better way than spending part of it out fishing? Steve grinned; he could think of a few things…

His thoughts were interrupted when he spied something behind the cave's outside arc. It looked like a boat's railing. He turned to look for Chin, but he was a few feet away, going the other direction down to the cave's entrance.

Steve swam towards the object and was surprised to see a small yacht on the bottom of the sea. The waters around there were shallow, nowhere deeper than 20 to 30 feet, so it was no problem to dive down to it.

The yacht looked intact, he couldn't see any damage. Steve estimated that it couldn't have been submerged for any length of time. It looked to be in pristine condition. He wondered how it had sunk.

He touched the hull of it and read the name _Wangxiang,_ prominent in bold letters _._

Steve knew he could stay under water for another minute before the need to breathe would become overwhelming. So he swam around the submerged boat to look at it from the other side. Steve used his underwater-camera, hanging from his belt, to snap a few shots of the yacht before he swam back towards Chin.

He turned again facing the boat to snap another picture when all of a sudden he was whirled around like a doll in a hurricane. His mask and snorkel were ripped off his face and he was forcefully smashed into the cave's hard outside wall.

He was unconscious before he even realized that the yacht had just disintegrated in a fierce explosion.

 ** _H50 – H50 – H50_**

Muted sounds were his first awareness. He felt like he was wrapped in a cocoon or submerged in the water. But he was warm and fairly comfortable with the soft sound of beeping in the background, so Steve drifted again, allowing the quiet sounds to lull him back to sleep.

Voices pulled him from sleep the second time and he jerked, causing pain to rip across the back of his head. Steve heard a gasp, belatedly realizing it came from him.

A hand rested on his upper arm and a voice spoke from someplace nearby. He opened his eyes and blinked, staring into the face of a smiling nurse.

"It's good to see you awake," she said. "Just relax for me and everything will be fine. My name's Joni. How do you feel?"

It took a moment to process the words but he finally replied. Licking his dry lips, he croaked, "I'm good."

She smiled even wider and reached for a cup of ice. "I'm sure 'good' is a relative term, but you're going to be fine," Joni said, offering him a spoonful of ice. "I'll go let the doctor know you are awake."

She turned to leave the room and Steve heard a familiar voice. "Excuse me. Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course," Joni replied. "I'm on my way to get the doctor. You can keep him company."

Lou Grover entered Steve's line of vision. "Hey, man, you sure know how to shave years off my life."

"Lou, how's Chin?"

"He's fine and should be here soon. Doc's releasing him now. A better question is 'how do you feel'?"

" 'M, OK," he replied, reaching up to feel the back of his head. He was lying on his back with his head turned to the left. He felt a cold pack held in place by a pillow pressed against the back of his head. "Sore."

"Yeah, well that explosion almost knocked me clean outta the boat. Can't imagine what it felt like being down there with it."

"What do we know?"

"Hey, now, there's enough time for that later. You just rest and do what they tell you."

"Lou…"

"Steve… I ain't budging. You do what the doctor says."

"Oh, he will," another voice said from the doorway. "He will do exactly as I say, won't you, Steve?"

"Hey, Max."

"Captain, Lt. Kelly has been released and I understand you are his ticket out of here. Why don't you take him home and let me deal with McGarrett? He will be here for a while longer."

"Doc, I'm just sore. I could tell if something was broken."

"Maybe, but I thought a scan would be the safer option," the doctor said with a smile. "We will discuss the findings in a minute. Captain, would you mind?"

"No, of course not. See you, Steve. I'll call you later," Grover told him while pointing to the doctor. "Listen to him."

"Yeah, yeah…"

In the next two hours he listened to _two_ doctors telling him how incredibly lucky he had been. That he miraculously got away with a mild concussion and small tear in his left eardrum. The CT scan had been clear, and he was now seated on the side of the gurney hoping he would soon have clothes to leave. Apparently his swim shorts had been sliced and diced to get him out of them. He wasn't really sure why since apparently his only injury was a goose egg on the back of his head.

"Hey, Handsome," a soft voice said from the open doorway. "You sure know how to scare a girl."

Steve glanced up as Catherine moved across the room, stopping only when she was standing directly in front of him. She dropped the bag she was carrying and wrapped both arms loosely around his neck. "Are you OK?"

He gave her a half smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just bumps and bruises. And a knot on the back of my head." His arms slid around her waist and he pulled her closer, kissing her lips and trailing his mouth along her jaw line to below her ear. "Stop worrying."

"Oh, that comes with the territory," she assured him.

"There had better be some clothes in that bag," he said, dropping his arms.

She leaned down to pick it up and dropped it into his lap. "As a matter of fact, yes. And once we get you in them, I can take you home."

"Ah, I need to go to work first."

"Steve—"

"Cath, I need to find out what's going on. That explosion was no accident. I'll be fine."

"We'll talk about it," she promised, not wavering, knowing he wouldn't be able to rest if she did take him home.

"Deal," he told her, fully knowing he was going to get his way.

 ** _MCTF - MCTF - MCTF_**

"You should get home and rest, you know that right?" Catherine asked when she stopped the car in front of HPD.

"I'm fine, Cath." Seeing the worried look he added, "I'll take it easy, OK? And I'll be home early."

"I'll hold you to that. Promise me you'll come home if your headache gets worse or you get dizzy… or any of the other things the doc listed."

Steve rolled his eyes, but reminded himself not to do that again anytime soon when it brought on a slight case of vertigo. "I'll be fine."

"Still waiting for the promise," Cath simply said.

"Fine. I promise. Before I keel over I'll come home. Happy now?"

"Delighted," Cath said, and he heard the sarcasm dripping from that one word. "Don't forget, we have big plans tonight."

"How could I forget?" he asked. "I'll be careful. Promise," Steve sincerely said. He had more than himself to consider now. And he loved this new role, so he meant it when he said he would be careful.

"I know you will. But we both know how fast something can go sideways. I'm just worried, that's all."

"I know." Steve looked at his girl, and had to suddenly grin. If she ever heard him refer to her as his girl, he would probably have to sleep on the couch for a week. He leaned over and gave her a kiss before he climbed out of the car. "See you in a couple of hours."

Steve waited until she had pulled into traffic before he headed inside.

 _ **Major Crimes Task Force**_

Steve walked into headquarters, waving to several officers on the way as he headed to the task force offices near the back. He glanced at the sign above the doorway to the glassed in area, not for the first time thinking how lucky he was to be where he was and with the team that he had chosen. He had worked hard to get where he was now and even though some people cried foul when he was appointed by the police commissioner and the governor, he knew he was right for the job. And he had proven it, too. He had a good team and both their closed cases and ongoing investigations had put a huge dent in the level of crime on Oahu and the surrounding islands.

"Hey," Steve said, entering the bullpen. "Chin, are you OK? I'm surprised Dr. Kelly let you return to work. Besides it's your day off."

"It's one of the perks to being married to your doctor. But I'm fine. You're the one who got knocked around down there. And technically it is your day off, too. Should you be here?"

"I'm OK," Steve assured him. "And thanks for the save."

"Anytime, but let's try not to make a habit of it, OK?"

Investigator Duke Lukela hung up the phone in his office and joined them. "Steve, how'zit? Go home and rest, brah," he said with a laugh, knowing his boss would do no such thing. "But since you're here, the Commissioner is looking for you."

"Yeah, I bet," Steve mumbled while heading into his office. He sat down behind his desk and reached for the phone.

"Commissioner, you rang?" Steve said, smiling into the phone.

"What the hell were you thinking?" a concerned voice bellowed through the line.

"About?" Steve asked, calling up the email program on his computer.

"You know about what. What were you doing at a wreck site?"

"We were fishing. The wreck just happened to be there. But someone didn't want that boat to be found. We're gonna haul up the pieces and hopefully see if I detonated something or if it was set to explode. Hopefully we can find out who it belonged to."

"Yeah, you do that. And be careful."

"Yes, Dad."

"And call your mother. Are you guys still coming for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Of course. I'll call her later."

"You'd better. Or I'll hear about it when I get home."

"Yeah, you have such a tough life," Steve said with a grin. "Talk to you later."

Chin opened the office door just as Steve replaced the handset of his phone. "We've got a hit on the boat," he said.

"That was fast," Steve replied, standing to follow the other man.

"Well, the pictures you took sure helped," Chin told him with a grin.

"That would do it. What was the name?"

"Wangxiang. It is registered to Pauly Ekoa, the head of a fishing fleet on the north shore."

"That boat's kind of far from home," Steve commented. "Have we found Ekoa?"

"Not yet," Duke said, coming toward the two men. "Steve, are you sure you're OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"That's good, your dad would kill me if you were injured on my watch."

Steve grinned at his father's long-time friend. "I wouldn't let him hold you responsible." Switching topics, he added, "Is our guy missing?"

Duke shook his head. "Wife said he called last night to tell her he was pulling an all-nighter; work hasn't seen him since yesterday around two. Said he got a phone call and left in a hurry."

"In the wind?" Chin asked.

"Or maybe at the bottom of the ocean," Steve commented. "Any luck at picking up the wreckage?"

"Working on it," Chin replied. "But it's gonna take time. There's a lot of pieces."

 ** _MCTF - MCTF - MCTF_**

"Who are we meeting?" Steve asked his partner and longtime friend Chin Ho Kelly an hour later as they walked across HPD's parking lot.

"Are you OK?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine, why do you keep asking?"

"You've touched your lower back a few times now, and you're favoring your left leg," Chin answered.

"Nah, I'm good. Just a little sore and bruised," Steve assured his partner. "They gave me a once over at the hospital. I'm fine. Really."

"Uh huh. How's your head?"

Steve grinned about Chin's relentlessness. He was sure Cath has told Kelly to keep an eye on him. "Hurts like a bitch," Steve answered.

"I'm sure you're hurting all over. You were damn lucky, Steve."

"Yeah. That could have ended really badly," Steve solemnly said. "So, who _**do**_ _ **we meet?"**_

"Daniel Williams and his family. Currently on vacation from New Jersey," Chin read the information from his phone. "He's a photographer and Duke said he has some information."

"What information?" Steve wanted to know as they reached the car.

"They were the last people renting the boat before it disappeared," Chin answered and stopped Steve from getting into the car. "You're not driving."

"Says who?" Steve turned and glared at his friend.

"Your doctor, Max Bergman. Remember him? You have a concussion and a busted ear drum. He said, and I quote 'No driving the next few days'."

"A mild concussion, and I don't have any vertigo. It's just a small tear," Steve grumbled but gave up the hope to drive and walked around the hood of the car.

"That can change," Chin only said and slid behind the wheel.

"Cath put you up to this, didn't she?"

"Yeah, that too," Chin answered laughing. "She'd have my head if I'd let you drive. So, chill, brah, and enjoy the ride."

 _ **MCTF - MCTF – MCTF**_

Chin pulled the car into a space at the Hawaiian Hilton where the Williams family was staying. Getting out of the car, he pointed toward the pool area. "The Williams' said they would meet us here. Their kids are swimming."

They spied a couple near the shallow end of the pool, watching a young blond boy playing with his older sister. "That's probably them," Steve said, heading that direction after seeing no other family only watching their kids in the pool. The mother at least had on a swimsuit and cover up. Dad looked like he hadn't ever stepped foot in the water.

"Mr. and Mrs. Williams?" Chin asked.

"Yeah, that's us," Mr. Williams said. "Are you the cops? Can we make this fast? It's naptime."

"Daniel…" Mrs. Williams said, smiling her apology at the two officers.

Chin, ever the diplomat, smiled and agreed. "As quick as we can be. Let's have a seat." He waited until both Williams were seated and sat in one of the seats opposite them. Steve remained standing, next to Chin.

"So, what brings you here?" Steve asked. "Business or pleasure?"

" 'A family vacation, she said. It will be fun, she said'," Danny shot back, then turned to his wife. "Getting a call from the police, yeah, this is fun. What do you want us for?" he asked, glaring at Steve.

Steve folded his arms and stared at the two of them. "You rented the _Wangxiang_ yesterday?"

"If that was the damn boat's name," Mr. Williams fired back which earned him another glare from his wife.

"Yes, we did," Mrs. Williams said. "Is there a problem?"

"Hey, I'm from Jersey and been around the water all my life," Mr. Williams interrupted. "I told that guy the engine was running badly. If he's trying to pin any boat problems or repairs on us, he's out of luck. I paid a shit-load for that stupid boat trip already; he's not getting another penny from me."

"Daniel! Watch your language."

"I can assure you, that's not why we're here," Chin said.

"Then what do you want?"

"The Wangxiang was found this morning at the bottom of the ocean. Shortly after it was found, it exploded. We wanted to know if you can recall anything out of the ordinary while you were around it," Chin explained.

Mr. Williams whipped around toward his wife again and shouted, "I told you it was a stupid idea to come to this godforsaken island. We were almost blown up!"

Steve looked in irritation from the ranting man to the smiling woman. She seemed to take her husband's ranting without being fazed by it.

"Honey, it's been our dream vacation for so long," the woman started to say with what Steve thought was a British accent.

"More like a Christmas nightmare," the husband again interrupted.

If he didn't already have a headache, Steve was sure this guy would give him one.

"Hey!" He called out. "Can you turn it down a notch? And maybe just answer our questions?"

"Sure. The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can leave this damn rock," the blonde man answered.

"We're _**not**_ leaving, Daniel."

"You bet we will, as soon as we're done answering his stupid questions we're outta here."

Steve was slowly but surely losing his patience with this tourist from New Jersey. "Mr. Williams, if you prefer we can move this questioning to our headquarters. That might help you calm down."

"Are you threatening me? You listen to me, you son of a bitch…" the short man jumped up again, and started poking his fingers at Steve.

"I'm warning you; take your finger outta my face." Steve told him in a quiet voice, still smiling.

"Or what?" Mr. Williams from New Jersey challenged.

But before the last syllable had left his mouth he found himself being restrained with his right arm behind his back and a low voice near his ear. "I warned you nicely. Now, do you want to answer our questions like a civilized person, or do you want me to arrest you for assaulting an officer in front of all these nice people?"

"Danno!?" The young girl screamed from the pool while holding onto her brother.

"All right, all right, just let me go, you Animal. Damn it, man, my kids are here."

Steve released the man's arm. "Then I suggest you calm down and talk."

"I will file a complaint with your boss, or the Governor," Williams huffed and tugged on his shirt, but sat back next to his wife, who by this time had lost her patience as well.

"I'm sure Aunt Pat can't wait to listen to your complaint," Steve said with a smirk.

"I'm not sure what you need," Rachel Williams politely said, cutting a scathing glare at her husband. "It seemed like a normal boat trip. Right, Daniel?"

Williams turned back to them, much calmer. "Uh, yeah, other than the engine spitting a few times, I didn't notice anything. I'm a photographer and was taking some photos of the ocean and the island, but I didn't see anything that was odd."

Mrs. Williams shook her head. "Nor did I," she added. "I'm sorry."

"Danno, remember, I told you that man was watching us," the girl in the water said.

Steve moved to the edge of the pool and squatted near her. "Can you tell me anything else?"

She looked to her parents for confirmation. "Go ahead, Grace," Mrs. Williams said. "If you can remember anything, please say so."

Grace looked back at Steve and smiled. "Not really, but they weren't very far away and he kept watching us. I told Danno and he said it was because we are such a good looking family."

Steve smiled as he heard Williams snort behind his back.

"Do you remember what this man looked like?"

She scrunched up her face. "No… well, he sort of looked like the guys who did the..." Grace stopped and thought for a moment. "the Sumo demonstration. He was really big."

"Good. Did he have hair?"

"No, but he had a white towel on his shoulder and had a yellow tee shirt on with a red face on it."

Steve reached out his hand for a high five, which the girl obliged. "Great job, Grace. Thank you."

"You're welcome" she replied and went under the water when her brother jumped on her back. She came up laughing and grabbed for him.

Steve stood and had to grab onto the ladder leading into the pool to not tumble into the water. But thankfully the vertigo left him as quickly as it had come on. Unfortunately, the pain in his ear increased tenfold, which only added to the pounding of his head.

Steve put on a smile and turned back to the parents. "She's got a good eye," he told them, ignoring Chin's worried look.

"Yes, she does," Mrs. Williams agreed. "Thank you."

Chin stood as he felt the interview was over. "If you can think of anything else, please call us," he told them while handing Mrs. Williams his card.

"Did you notice anyone else out there?" Steve asked. "Any other boats hanging around?"

The parents thought for a moment and Mr. Williams finally replied, "When we docked another yacht was pulling in… and it was a _**big**_ one. Nice looking couple on board and the boat's name was Adam's something or other."

Steve and Chin traded silent looks. _Adam's Lair_ was owned by Adam Noshimuri, Chin's cousin Kono's husband. They knew where they were next headed.

"Oh! Mr. Policeman, I remember!" Grace shouted in excitement.

"What's that?" Steve asked her.

"The name of the boat. It was _**Troubled Waters**_."

"Gracie, thank you. You might just have solved our case for us," Steve told her, smiling at her once again.

After saying their goodbyes, they walked away, Chin asking, "So, do you think our case is solved?"

"Not really, but it's more than we had before. Let's go see Kono. And after that we need to have a little talk with Kamekona."

"You think he has anything to do with this?" Chin asked while he unlocked the car's door.

"Not sure, but Grace clearly ID-ed him on that boat."

"That description fits a lot of people, Steve."

"Yeah, yeah, but how many of them wear their face on a tee shirt?" the head of the Major Crimes Task Force countered.

"Well, there is that. Maybe we can finally make a charge stick to the big guy."

"That would be a good day," Steve agreed. "But let's start with Kono.

 ** _MCTF - MCTF – MCTF_**

Chin pulled away from the hotel and glanced at his boss. "I saw that misstep back there. You almost face planted into the pool."

"Did not."

"Steve, come on, call it a day and go home. Duke and I will work on this."

"Chin, I'm good and I want to see this through. Hopefully we can figure this out soon."

No sooner were the words out that Chin's phone rang.

"Hey, Kono, we were on the way to see you," he spoke into the speaker.

" _Hi, Cuz, what about?"_

"Do you know Pauly Ekoa?"

" _Yeah, and that's why I'm calling. Adam and I need to talk to you. Meet us at the marina?"_

"On our way."

 _ **MCTF - MCTF – MCTF**_

"Man, this is the life," Chin commented while slamming the car door.

"You would be bored out of your mind," Steve told him.

"Maybe not for the first month," Chin said with a grin. "And I might adapt."

"You'd be climbing the walls," Steve confidently told him. "Trust me."

"Hi, guys," Kono called to them, motioning them to meet her on deck. Adam came up the interior stairs and also greeted them as they sat around a table with bottles of water Kono took from the fridge.

"So," Steve began. "You said you wanted to talk to us about Ekoa?"

Adam nodded. "Yeah, we heard about the explosion this morning. Are you two OK?"

"Relatively speaking," Chin replied before Steve could get out his patented "I'm good".

"So, what do you have for us?" Steve asked, making a face at his partner.

"Not much," Adam said. "But when we were pulling in yesterday, a family was just leaving Pauly's boat. The man was complaining about the engine but Pauly seemed to really be in a hurry and ushered them off without his usual check to make sure nothing had been damaged. That was kind of odd."

"And then he took off again," Kono added. "No stop for gas or anything. He was gone."

"What time was this?" Steve asked.

Kono looked at her husband and shook her head. "What do you think? Two thirty, maybe?"

Adam nodded. "Sometime around there. But this is the interesting part," he told them. "I went into the marina office to log in and overheard one of the guys talking. Apparently the _Wangxiang_ wasn't even supposed to go out yesterday. Pauly had grounded it, but no one told the kid on duty yesterday morning. They had overbooked and he gave that family the boat by mistake. Pauly fired the kid when he found out."

"Did anyone in the office know why Pauly was so mad?" Chin asked.

Adam slowly shook his head. "Not that I know of, but they were keeping a low profile. I had Kono call you because I wasn't sure how much they told the cops after the explosion this morning."

"Not a lot," Chin told them. "So, thanks for the heads up."

"Hey, you didn't happen to see Kamekona out there yesterday, did you?" Steve asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did," Kono said. "He and another man were on his boat. I saw them as we were coming in for fuel."

"Could you tell what they were doing?"

"Nothing, really," she replied. "They appeared to be anchored when I saw them. Sorry."

"Not a problem. You've been a big help," Steve said and stood. "You don't know the name of the kid who was fired, do you?"

"No, sorry," Adam told him. "Honestly it is a revolving door down there."

"I hear you," Chin said. "Not a lot of job security. Thanks, guys," he said and gave his cousin a hug.

 ** _MCTF - MCTF – MCTF_**

"So the boat went out when it wasn't supposed to," Chin said when they reached the car. "Any idea what that might mean?"

Steve slowly shook his head and regretted the move when the stabbing pain in his ear spiked. "Maybe it needed repair. Or maybe Ekoa wanted to use it himself. And where was he planning to go? The spot we found the boat was secluded. Maybe there was a meet."

"You've done a lot of research on Kame," Chin said. "Do you remember any connection between the two?"

"Not that I recall," Steve said and climbed into the car. Before he asked Chin to head to the marina office, his phone rang. "Hey, Duke. What'd'you have?"

"Lots of stuff," he replied. "Divers are bringing up portions of the boat and they found body parts. No ID yet, but my bet is Ekoa."

"That'd be my guess," Steve replied. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, there was a safe on board. And believe it or not, it is still intact. We were hoping for something inside, but it was empty. But, the good news is that Fong was able to get some prints on the _**inside**_ of the safe."

"Any hits?"

"Oh, yeah. Kamekona himself has been on that boat."

 ** _MCTF - MCTF – MCTF_**

"So, you think Doris will really do it?" Chin asked while turning into the parking lot of Kamekona's restaurant.

"You mean retire from teaching? I'm not sure; she's been talking about it for a couple of years," Steve answered. "I think she'd go crazy without being at school."

"And drive John crazy, too," Chin added laughing.

"All of us probably," Steve agreed.

"That's true. How do you wanna go about this?" Chin asked as he pointed to the restaurant's entrance.

"Let's just go in and have a little chat with him."

"Yeah, that's gonna fly, I'm sure," Chin snorted.

Steve only grinned and stepped out of the car. He knew that Kamekona wouldn't be happy to see either of them. Their investigation into his dealings had led them many times to this location. Always resulting in the same outcome; no charges were filed against Kamekona.

"You know, one of these days he'll make a mistake. And then we'll be there," Steve told his friend.

"Yeah, maybe that day is today. Look, Sang Min's in da house," Chin said and pointed to the former informant and longtime criminal.

"Good, two birds with one stone." Steve looked at the men exiting the building. "Hey, Kamekona, can we have a word?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Chin grumbled when Sang Min took off running after seeing them. "Take Kamekona?" He called to his boss and set off to go after the younger man.

"You're not taking off, are ya?" Steve asked when he approached the big man.

"Nah, brah. No reason to."

"Uh huh. Turn around please," Steve told him and took out his handcuffs. Seeing the absurdity of his plan, he hooked them back on to the back of his belt. Cuffing the man wouldn't work. "Let's go back inside," he ordered.

Kamekona grumbled something Steve couldn't hear, but he slowly walked back inside his restaurant. When they entered Steve looked around, seeing no one he told Kamekona to move to his office.

"You need a warrant for dat."

"No, I don't. Since you and your buddy are guilty of obstructing an officer in the performing of his duty I have every right to take a look into your office," Steve explained. Of course, he knew that was only half true, but it would hold in court if he added the need to search the premises on the basis of exigent circumstances. After all, Kamekona had harbored a fugitive. Sang Min had been on their wanted list for the last two weeks after Ellie Clayton finally got the warrant approved by a judge. "Now, open the door."

The next things happened so fast, Steve had no time to get his gun out after they heard a loud crashing noise coming from the office.

A second later the door flew open and two men stormed out of the office, right into Kamekona. The big man was taken by surprise and stumbled back, knocking over a table, crash-landing on top of it.

One of the guys went down with him, and the other barreled into Steve. The two also landed hard on the floor. For a second Steve saw stars but he recovered quickly, he had his opponent flipped on his belly and handcuffed in seconds. But still not fast enough to avoid getting knocked over a second time when the guy who had brought Kamekona down smashed into him.

He fell forward and his forehead connected not too gently with the unforgiving floor. Steve groaned when pain exploded in his head, his vision blurred for a second when he tried to get onto his knees. Vertigo struck and he fell back down.

Thankfully the second guy wasn't interested in knocking out a police officer; his only goal was to get the hell out of there. Which he did.

It took a minute for Steve to get back onto his feet. Kamekona and the handcuffed guy were still on the ground, both cursing with the best of them.

"Shut up, both of you," Steve called out, holding on to one of the tables.

"Steve, are you OK?" Chin called from the door. He pushed Sang Min into a chair and moved quickly to his friend. "Hey, you OK?"

" 'm good," Steve answered his concerned friend, swallowing hard to not throw up the meager contents of his stomach. "One got away."

"I know. I saw him jumping over the fence. But I couldn't go after him," Chin said while checking his partner. "I called HPD. They should be here any minute. Do you need an ambulance?"

"What? No, I'm good."

"Steve, you don't look too hot. More like you'll keel over any second. At least sit down before you fall down."

"That is a great idea," Steve agreed.

"Gentlemen," Chin began, looking at their three prisoners. "I think we all will have a nice talk."

 ** _MCTF - MCTF - MCTF_**

After interrogating Kamekona and sang Min the case was finally solved. Steve gratefully climbed out of the car, thanking Chin for the ride home. He was later than the 'couple of hours' he had told Cath, but the case was over, except for the paperwork. And that could wait until morning. He waved to Chin and turned toward the front door.

He reached for the door handle just as it was pulled open from inside.

"Daddy!"

Steve was tackled by two arms reaching around his legs. "Hey, Buddy, I missed you," he said, dropping to his knees for a proper hug.

"I missed you more," the child affirmed.

"Finn, that's not possible," Steve assured him and dropped a kiss on the top of his son's dark blond hair. "Where's Mommy?"

"Mommy's right here," Cath said, coming out of the kitchen and wiping her hands on a towel. "You're late," she said, leaning in for a kiss when Steve stood back up.

"Yeah, but we got the guy," he told her. "Case is wrapped up."

"That's good to hear," she told him. "Finn has been busy helping with dinner."

"No kidding?" Steve said, looking down at the three-year-old. "Good job, Buddy."

"You 'member what we're doing tonight, right?"

"Um, you're taking a bath?" Steve quizzed.

"No, that's not it," Finn said, making a face at his father.

"Hmmm, are we going to bed early?"

"No. Look in the corner… 'member? You promised."

"Oh, that," Steve said, glancing at the unadorned tree in the living room. "What? You want to decorate it?"

"You knew it all the time. You were just teasing me, 'ight?"

"Yep, I was teasing. You catch me every time, don't you?"

"Yeah, and it's gonna look totally cool, huh Daddy?"

"Totally cool," Steve agreed. "And we'll start as soon as dinner is over and we help Mom clean up, OK?"

"Yep," the little boy nodded. "Oh, I gotta finish! I'm makin' salad." He turned and ran into the kitchen as quickly as his short legs could take him.

Steve put his arm around Catherine's shoulders and kissed her forehead. "He's making salad?" he asked, a quizzical expression on his face.

"Yeah, well, I chopped up the veggies and he's tossing the tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers on top of the romaine and arugula. Don't worry, his hands are clean," she said with a smile.

Steve listened while began little nipping kisses down to her neck. "That's very good to know. Now, how are you?"

"I am fine," she assured him with a smile. "I'm not the one who was in an explosion this morning. How's your headache?"

"It's OK," he said, even though he knew she didn't believe him. "Ear hurts a little." His mouth continued wandering across her shoulder blade before he leaned down, kissing her protruding belly. "And how's my newest girl?" he asked. "Hey, Sweet Pea, Daddy's home."

Steve stood back up and blinked quickly to clear his blurry vision.

"Steve?"

He heard Catherine's voice from a distance and turned his head to see her. All he saw was a swirl of white as he heard her voice repeat his name again, the sound growing fainter.

"Cath…"

 _ **H50 - H50 - H50**_

"What the hell happened, Lou?" Danny Williams asked as soon as he entered the ER.

"Coast Guard is still out trying to figure out what caused the explosion," the former SWAT captain answered. "Chin is OK, he just needs a few stitches. Caught his hand on something."

"Explosion? I thought you guys were spear fishing?" Danny asked and looked Lou up and down. "Are you OK?"

"I wasn't in the water, I'm fine."

Williams nodded and looked at the door behind which he knew his friend was just being treated. "What about Steve?"

"We got him out of the water as fast as we could, Danny. But he was close to the explosion, the shockwave hit him full force," Lou recounted what they knew so far. "He was unresponsive when Chin found him at the bottom of the sea. We couldn't get him to start breathing on his own, but he had a pulse. He was flown here right away."

"He wasn't breathing?"

"No. They intubated to get air in," Lou said and seeing the shocked look on Williams' face he hurried on. "The doc said something about it being his luck that he was knocked out and stopped breathing while underwater. Something about not inhaling any water."

"How can not breathing be good!?" Danny called out. "Damn it, Lou. Was this a freak accident… or?"

"I don't know. It had been a great day until suddenly the boat shook… Then Chin came up, frantically looking for Steve. I called the Coast Guard and Chin dove back down to find Steve."

"How long was he under?" Danny asked, fearing the worst.

"Not more than a minute after the explosion. We got him on board and started CPR right away."

"But he didn't start breathing?"

"No. He had a bleeding wound on the back of his head," Lou explained.

"Jeez, he cracked his head?"

"I don't know, Danny. I'm not a doctor," Grover called out.

"I'm sorry," Williams apologized for his outburst. "It's just that…"

"I know. But the doc said his vitals are good, and he was breathing on his own again when they wheeled him into the ER. Unconscious still, but breathing."

"What?! Why the heck didn't you say that in the first place? Geez, Lou!"

"I'm sorry, OK? Sorry," Lou answered. "He's going to be OK, you know that, right?"

"Captain Grover?" A young doctor interrupted them.

"Yes. Doctor, this is Detective Williams," Lou introduced Danny to the ER attendant.

"How is Commander McGarrett?"

"Well," Dr. Burg started to tell and then motioned for them to follow to a quiet corner. "He is stable, but still unconscious. We think he hit the back of his head, which rendered him unable to breathe. That can happen, and in his case it was his lucky day that it happened."

"How so?"

"It prevented him from inhaling any water. We would be looking at different and more dramatic problems if he had actually drowned," the doctor explained in easy terms. "He's getting a CT scan as we speak, and barring any serious problems he will be in a room shortly."

"But he's still unconscious," Danny said.

"Yes, but we expect him to come around soon. Of course, we need to wait until after the scan, but we don't think there is any serious damage," Dr. Burg calmly explained. "We just need to wait for him to wake up."

"So, he will be OK?" Lou asked.

"I think so, yeah. Gentlemen, this could have been a lot worse. Being this close to an explosion in the water? That can end in fatal disaster."

"Thank you, doctor." Grover again shook the physician's hand.

"You're welcome. I'll contact you again should the CT reveal anything unexpected."

"Thanks," Danny also thanked the doctor and watched him going back to tend to his next patient. "Guess he was lucky again."

"Yeah." Lou turned to his friend. "Listen, I know you have to be in court. I'll stay here waiting for Steve to wake up, and to check on Chin. You go and put that bastard behind bars for good. Don't blow their case by being here."

"They gave me an hour to get back. I'm sorry, Lou, but I really should head back."

"McGarrett would kick your ass if you don't make it back to court in time to give your statement. So, you better hurry back," Lou told him.

"Keep me posted," Danny said and turned to leave. "Call me if anything changes," he called back over his shoulder.

"Will do."

It wasn't long before Steve was settled in a room with Grover glaring at him, hoping that action would wake him up. Unfortunately, after forty-five minutes, Lou realized all his wishing was futile. Steve hadn't even wiggled a finger.

He sighed and reached for his phone to update everyone with the non-news of their friend's condition. He had just hit the send button on his phone when Steve turned his head on the pillow, grimacing with the movement.

"Cath?"

The word was breathed so softly that Lou couldn't make out the sound but he leaned forward, thankful that Steve seemed to be coming around.

"Steve? Steve, hey, can you hear me?"

"Unh?" Steve heard his name being called, but something was off and he wasn't sure what it was. _Where is Cath?_ His head was pounding and he knew opening his eyes would be a grave mistake. But even without seeing where he was, he knew. The nauseating smell of cleanser and alcohol was nearby and without much provocation, he would lose whatever was in his stomach.

What he couldn't understand was how he got there. He was just home with Cath and…

Steve sucked in a deep breath, nearly gagging himself.

"Hey, hey, slow down, Steve. I'll get the nurse in here," Grover said. "Just take it easy."

He didn't reply. He couldn't. It wasn't that _something_ was wrong; _everything_ was wrong, and he knew it.

In fact, with clarity, he knew that nothing would ever be the same again. Steve finally tried to open his eyes and glanced around. The pain in his head spiked and he quickly shut them, but not before they began to water. He had heard Grover's voice but his friend wasn't around and Steve remembered something about a nurse. He was thankful to be alone, knowing that that situation would change momentarily. He took a shuddering breath, trying to get his emotions… and the tears in his eyes… in check.

The ache in his heart was far greater than the pain in his head could ever be. With sadness he realized that there was no Cath, no kids, no happiness.

He was still alone.

 ** _H50 – H50 – H50_**

* * *

 _ **We wish Authors' End Notes**_

On the way from Louisville to Chicago in October we began talking about "what if". In Episode 1.13 Steve mentioned that his mom's "death" set the course of his whole life. If she hadn't have died, he never would have left Hawaii, never would have joined the Navy, missed every major holiday, every birthday and his life would have been different.

We thought it would be interesting to explore how things might have been different for Steve. Yes, we did it in a round-about way set as a story of "Wishes" and used an alternate universe, but we didn't want to let you know that up front. We like to keep you guessing, although I'm sure you began to catch on rather quickly that this wasn't a normal story!

Steve is a police captain, having followed in his father's footsteps. He and Catherine are married and have a three-year old named Finn and have a daughter on the way… that is, until Steve woke up.

Since Steve's life was changed, we decided to give the other characters different lives as well:

Chin was married to Malia, who was a doctor. Chin is second in command of the Major Crimes Task Force.

Duke and Charlie both work in the task force along with Chin and Steve.

Kono and Adam were married and enjoying a life of leisure.

Grover was the SWAT Commander and good friends with Steve and Chin.

John McGarrett was the Police Commissioner and was still married to Doris.

Danny, Rachel, Grace and Charles still live in his beloved New Jersey and only visited Hawaii. That was enough for Danny as he still hates everything about it.

Max is the doctor.

Kamekona is the bad guy.

Sang Min is… well, he's just Sang Min.

We hope you enjoyed our little trip into our Happyland.


End file.
